Bark for more

Attention all dogs: You no longer have an excuse for not eating healthy.

That's because Dogs Love Kale treats are going national. Starting in August, the Naples-based maker of healthy dog treats signed a deal with national distributor Phillips Pet Food and Supplies, one of the largest in the country.

“Their sales team is now working on the product,” says Paula Savarese, co-owner with Dawn Ward of Dogs Love Kale.

Already the treats are available in more than 2,500 stores, but the new distribution agreement means the treats could be sold in thousands more. “It makes the ordering process much more convenient,” says Savarese.

Savarese and Ward got the idea to make the healthy dog treats after their two dogs devoured the kale treats the two women were making for themselves. At first, they made the treats at home for their own dogs, KC and Mossimo.

Savarese and Ward discovered that pet owners who are concerned about what their dogs eat loved the idea of kale-based treats when they tested it at a pet store. Kale is a leafy green vegetable that is popular with health-conscious people.

The two women got a big break in 2013 when Bark Box ordered 30,000 bags to send to its monthly gift-box subscribers. Since then, Savarese and Ward contracted with a commercial bakery to produce the treats, which come in five flavors, such as apple and peanut.

Their success hasn't gone unnoticed. Pet Business Magazine recently awarded them special recognition for their treats. “That's really a big deal for us,” Savarese says.

Savarese and Ward also won a Shark Tank-style pitch contest for an infomercial that will air on CNBC. “They finished production of that and are looking to air it in January,” Savarese says, noting that as many as 80 million viewers will see it because it will run for a full month.

Savarese declines to cite financial results, but she's optimistic about the publicity and the national distribution agreement. “I think we'll double sales at a minimum,” she says. “This is what we've been working so hard to do.”

The two women are cooking up new flavors, too. “We have three new protein-based flavors,” Savarese says. There's chicka (chicken and blueberry) moo-moo (organic beef and carrot) and gobblers (turkey and sweet potato). All the new flavors also include kale, of course.

More flavors translate into more sales. “Every retailer that's bought the first five flavors started adding these three flavors,” Savarese says.

You can buy the treats online at Dogslovekale.com, where they range from $8.99 to $9.99 a pouch, but Savarese and Ward don't promote it. They prefer to distribute and sell the treats through independent pet stores.

Follow Jean Gruss on Twitter @JeanGruss